1 August 2025
A decisive intervention by the ANMF (SA Branch)-has prompted Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) management to commit to an urgent review of internal ramping, - the practice of corridor care and the nursing workloads following escalating concerns about safety and staff wellbeing.
After a formal Right of Entry at RAH earlier this month, ANMF SA raised serious work health and safety issues that triggered a meeting last week between RAH management, ANMF SA’s and SafeWorkSA. The meeting between the three parties prompted . RAH executives to agree to a thorough assessment of corridor care practices and patient placement in the Acute Medical Unit, which pose significant manual handling risks for staff and expose patients to unsafe conditions due to the lack of essential equipment like oxygen suction and call bells.
The hospital also agreed to urgently review Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) workloads following a formal report from ANMF SA outlining the psychological risks faced by staff amid untenable patient demands.
Additional key undertakings from the meeting included:
• Ongoing evaluation of hospital capacity pressures and alternative care pathways
• Strengthened communication between ANMF SA, RAH management, and SafeWork SA regarding WHS concerns
• Immediate review of staff exposure to critical hazards including job strain
ANMF SA CEO/Secretary Adj Assoc Professor Elizabeth Dabars AM welcomed the commitments but stressed the need for accountability.
“The situation at RAH is symptomatic of a larger crisis. Nurses and midwives across South Australia are exhausted, under-resourced, and being stretched beyond safe limits,” Ms Dabars said. “We have engaged SafeWork SA to ensure these issues are not only acknowledged but resolved through enforceable action.”
This outcome follows a high-profile media conference held in July by ANMF SA, which amplified public awareness of the issue of internal ramping and the urgent actions needed to ease the crisis.
ANMF SA will maintain close oversight of the hospital’s implementation of these safety measures and continue pressing for urgent statewide reforms to support frontline workers and safeguard patient care.